Benkadi Group

The group Benkadi is composed of seven women (four monogamous and three polygamous) who average 30 years of age and 3 children each. The women live in the hamlet of Bougoula, which is a rural community of Sikasso (third administrative region of the Republic of Mali). They operate diverse businesses, including selling condiments, Wax pagnes (colorful West African cloth), beauty products, soaps, etc.

The group members are on their fifth collaboration with the micro-finance institution Soro Yiriwaso in order to satisfy the growing needs of their customers and to increase their profits. The preceding loans have been repaid. With the current loan, they intend to buy 20 boxes of soap, 30 baskets of condiments, 30 bolts of Wax pagnes, and 50 boxes of beauty products. Supplies are gotten at the grand marketplace of Sikasso and in surrounding villages. The merchandise is sold there too, locally, at home, and door-to-door, cash or credit accepted at the retail level. Their customers are composed of women and men.

The group members each envision realizing an average monthly profit of 23,000 francs CFA. A portion of the profits will be used for feeding and clothing the children, and the other portion will be invested in business and used for making loan payments. Their ambition is to become wholesalers in the hamlet of Bougoula.

Additional Information

Important Information

Soro Yiriwaso is a microfinance institution that works primarily in rural and semi-urban areas of Mali to provide underprivileged communities with access to financial services.The organization facilitates access for disadvantaged clients, particularly women, to new resources and services, fostering solidarity and cooperation among its clients. Kiva lenders’ funds will enable Soro Yiriwaso to expand its outreach and target even more underserved Malians involved in business and agriculture.

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.